Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Trump business accused of human trafficking

The majority of Donald Trump’s campaign is built on xenophobia,
but while his supporters are ranting non-stop about immigrants, Trump himself
is taking full advantage of the flaws in our immigration system — at least
according to a report in Mother Jones, in which Trump is accused of human trafficking
(my words, not theirs).

Are those words a
little harsh? Well, according to the report, Trump Model Management has been
using foreign models who arrived on tourist visas, not work visas. Yes, that’s
a violation of federal law. It gets worse, though. The models are what could be
considered indentured servants because much of what they make goes right back
into the pockets of Donald Trump.

Founded in 1999, Trump Model Management “has risen to the
top of the fashion market,” boasts the Trump Organization’s website, and has a
name “that symbolizes success.”

According to a financial disclosure filed by
his campaign in May, Donald Trump earned nearly $2 million from the company, in
which he holds an 85 percent stake. Meanwhile, some former Trump models say
they barely made any money working for the agency because of the high fees for
rent and other expenses that were charged by the company.

Mother Jones interviewed three of Trump’s former models,
all of whom arrived in this country without proper documentation to be working
at all. All of whom compared working for Trump to “modern day slavery.” Two of
those models make the claim that the agency urged them to lie.

Two of the former Trump models said Trump’s agency
encouraged them to deceive customs officials about why they were visiting the
United States and told them to lie on customs forms about where they intended
to live. Anna said she received a specific instruction from a Trump agency
representative: “If they ask you any questions, you’re just here for meetings.”

That’s not all. The models complained that they were
forced to share a two bedroom apartment with at least 10 other models, all at
very inflated prices. Most of the models are under age:

“It is like modern-day slavery” (Canadian born model
Rachel) Blais said, adding that “most of the girls in the apartment that were
not American didn’t have a work visa.”

“We’re hoarded into these small spaces,” Kate recalled.
“The apartment was like a sweatshop.”

“I was by far the oldest in the house at the ripe old age
of 18,” Anna added.

A few months ago, theDaily Mailreported on a former model who claims
that she should have earned $75,000 a year working for Trump’s agency, but she
took home less than $5,000 in three years. She’s suing Trump’s agency.

Neither Mother Jones nor the Daily Mail used the words
“human trafficking,” but according to the United Nations, the definition
certainly applies.

While there’s no
evidence in the report of prostitution and definitely no evidence of removal of
organs, there was almost certainly deception, fraud and exploitation. Trump
would never get away with paying American models so poorly, which is exactly
why he imports them.

Next time you hear Trump and his supporters chant, “lock
her up,” remember this story. Not only is Trump not fit to be President, he’s
not fit to be out of prison.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article and the full Mother Jones piece
that inspired it, cover many aspects of how terrible employers – like Trump –
exploit undocumented workers. They did not cover another important aspect of
the issue, however, namely taxes.

To work at a legitimate job in the US, whether you are a US
citizen or an immigrant, you must fill out a W-4 form to set up your tax
payments and an I-9 form to establish that you have the legal right to work. If
you are working as a contractor, you must provide information so the employer
can issue you a 1099 tax form.

These young women entered the US on tourist visas and thus
did not have the means to be able to complete the paperwork. So were they (a)
paid under the table or (b) given fake Social Security numbers? Did the Trump
agency actually “deduct” any of the state and federal taxes owed?

I saw a lot of this during my time working for labor unions
where in addition to exploiting vulnerable people, the bosses were also
committing some major tax fraud. –
Will Collette

AuthorWendy
Gittleson is one of
the luckiest people on the planet. She actually gets to make a living out of
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Thought for the day

“Charlottesville is a great place that’s been very badly hurt over the last couple of days. I own, actually, one of the largest wineries in the United States. It is in Charlottesville.”

Donald Trump, responding to a question whether he would go to Charlottesville to offer support and comfort as so many Presidents have done in the past.

Quick fact check: Donald Trump does not own the winery; his idiot son Eric does under the name Eric Trump Wine Manufacturing LLC. And at 36,000 cases annual production, the winery is not even the largest winery in Virginia, never mind the United States.

Information and Feedback

If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this.